A New Life
by gothgal00
Summary: *Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood* Maya was abandoned by her parents, and left to fend for herself. She grows very protective, and let's no one in to get to know her. Can a certain Alchemist break through this defensive shell, and protect her from his enemies at the same time?
1. Chapter 1

I sighed, running my hand through my bright blue locks. I looked up at the giant building in front of me and rolled my eyes. "Oh ya, let's invite the outcast 14 year old to come work at the Central Command! What a brilliant freaking idea," I muttered darkly under my breath. I sighed before continuing inside the building.

Along the way I passed many people who gave me odd looks. I mean, exactly how many 14 year olds come into the Central Command? I doubt there are very many. So, I just stared right back at them until they became uncomfortable and turned away. I smirked as I continued down the hallway. Idiots, all of them. The only reason I was here was because of my mother, and even she left me.

Eventually I came across an office that read 'Mustang'. I sighed. Well, this was the place. I pushed my glasses up my nose, and knocked on the door.

"Come in." I heard.

I opened the door and walked in, seeing a middle aged man with black hair standing behind the desk. He looked over at me, and said, "You must be Maya?" I nodded.

"Well then, your mother requested that we give you a job here, as part of her resignation letter."

I glared at the floor and clenched my fists. "Ya, then she left."

Mustang looked over at me, with a stoic expression on his face. I couldn't really blame him for showing no emotion like that, he probably had to deal with sad stories all the time. It's not like I wanted sympathy. I despise sympathy, and I was getting it WAY too often. "So, anyways, what was this job that you were talking about?" I asked, walking over and plopping down on one of the chairs.

"I want you to train to enter the military," Mustang said bluntly. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Really?"

"Yes," he said, looking completely serious.

I shrugged. "Ok, not like I have anything better to do with my time."

Mustang gave a wry smile. "Well then, welcome to the military."

**_Hi, people of the internet. This is my first FMA story, and I based it off the Brotherhood version 'cause I haven't seen the original. I hope it was good, please let me know in the comments.  
Peace out.  
Bai_**


	2. Chapter 2: Heeeeeeeeere's Maya!

I stuck my tongue out of my mouth slightly and closed one eye as I aimed the gun. With a twitch of my finger, a bullet suddenly launched itself from the gun, tearing through the center of the target. I grinned at my success, and quickly pat myself on the back.

It's been almost a year since I've joined the military, and I'm still in training, though I'm almost done. I had been taught martial arts several years back, so I was already covered for hand to hand combat. For a while all I did was run laps and work to get in shape. That was probably one of the most difficult parts. See, I'm a lazy ass, and I'm proud of it. But every, single, flipping day, I had to get up and run several miles. Finally, I got used to it, and now I can run 5 miles in under 20 minutes.

Now I was training in using a gun. I wasn't a big fan of them. Honestly, when it comes to weapons where you shoot, I prefer a bow and arrow. Go ahead, call me old fashioned. I don't really care. But don't you dare go making jokes about 'taking an arrow to the knee', or I will shoot one through your knee, just to see how funny it really is.

Ok, anyways, I am now training to use a gun. It wasn't really as difficult as people made it out to be. I mastered using a pistol in practically no time at all, but the shotgun did take a little longer to learn to use. However, I eventually got that down too.

While I was here, I actually made some friends. Sure they were all at least 10 years older than me, but hey, a friend is a friend, right? Plus, there aren't any other people here that are my age. Not that I've seen at least. I've mostly gotten to know Mustang and his crew. They really were fun people. I found it especially fun to mess with them every once in a while... Though not Hawkeye... never again...

Suddenly a door slammed, and I was pulled out of my thoughts. I looked up to see Riza walk through the door, with her backpack in hand. I grinned at her and she smiled back.

"Sup?" I asked, turning back to the target.

"Just coming to practice some," she replied, getting her gun out of her bag.

I smiled and rolled my eyes, before shooting the target again. "It's always practice, practice, practice with you, isn't it? But I get why you do it."

Nothing else was said, though I could tell Riza was smiling. For 10 minutes, the only sound was the gunshots. When my hand started aching slightly, I figured that was enough. I stepped back, and bent backwards slightly, cracking my back. Smoothing my bangs back from my forehead, I put my pistol in it's holster and grabbed my backpack. I waved at Riza, before walking out.

I sighed. What to do, what to do... For a military base, this place was awfully boring. I shrugged. "Eh, I guess I'll go mingle, maybe challenge someone to a spar or something."

As I walked through the halls, I passed Mustang's office. I stopped walking for a second, before turning towards the door. Inside I could hear annoyed yelling, but it definitely wasn't Mustang. The voice sounded more... high pitched.

Well... what was happening in there wasn't really any of my business, but... I was bored out of my mind... Why not do a little eavesdropping? I grinned, before running away from the door to another smaller one. I entered the small broom closer, and hid my backpack in the corner. I looked up at my target: the air vent. Quickly scaling the shelf full of cleaning materials, I was soon in the air vents, silently crawling through. By now, I knew how to get to every room through the air vents, so getting to Mustang's office, really wasn't difficult. Before I knew it, I was lying still, staring through the vent.

There seem to be 2 other people in the office with Mustang. There was one really tall dude in a suit of armor, and a shorter dude with blonde hair in a red cape looking thing. At the moment, the short one was shouting at seemingly no one in particular, while Mustang just sat at his desk smirking.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT HE DOESN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BEING STEPPED ON BECAUSE HE'LL JUST FIT THROUGH THE CRACKS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE SHOE!"

"Um, Brother? He didn't say that." the suit of armor remarked, tentatively raising a hand. I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from laughing out loud and giving my position away.

"...I DON'T CARE, HE STILL CALLED ME SMALL!" the short one shouted.

Hm, so that's the high pitched yelling I heard earlier. What was this short guy doing here anyways? He looked to be about my age. Was he in the military too? Jeez, how many teens were they hiring?

The short one shifted and crossed his arms, and that's when I saw it: the silver pocket watch, sticking out of his pocket slightly. This kid was a state alchemist? Are you serious!? I gasped, and quickly covered my mouth. The short one and the suit of armor quickly spun around, looking for the source of the noise. I quickly pulled away from the vent, hoping I wouldn't be caught.

Unfortunately, Mustang knew who it was. "Maya, you can come down from the vents now, we know you're there."

I winced, but stayed quiet. Maybe he would change his mind?

"If you don't come down, I will get Lieutenant Hawkeye, and have her make you come down."

I yelped slightly. Despite being really nice, Riza could be absolutely terrifying.

"Um, you have reached the life model decoy of Maya, please leave a message... beep?" I said stupidly. Eh, might as well give it a try.

"Ok, fine then. I'm going to go get the Lieutena-"

"No!" I shouted, then covered my mouth. So much for eavesdropping.

With my hands, I undid the screws on the outside of the vent, then pushed it out. I slowly peaked my head through, grinning sheepishly. "Heeeere's Maya!" I said, trying to break the silence in the room. No one said anything. The two new people just stared at me in shock and slight confusion, while Mustang just looked on. I sighed before pushing myself out of the vent. I fell headfirst towards the floor, but ended up putting my hands down and rolling forward so that I was in a sitting position.

I looked up at the people still staring at me, and I gave a cheeky grin, closing my eyes as I did. I opened my eyes again, and sighed when everyone was still just staring at me. "You people are boring." I said suddenly, pouting at their lack of a reaction. But still, no one said anything. I rolled my eyes, and lay back down on the floor. "Fine, you guys just keep staring or whatever. When you're ready to form a coherent sentence and actually speak, just let me know." I got comfortable on the floor and closed my eyes, just about ready to take a nap.

Finally, someone spoke up, and from the voice, my guess is that it was the short one. "Who the hell are you?"

I sighed and sat up. "Are you really that dense? My name has been said at least twice. But I'll repeat it, so listen closely. My name is Maya Cohen. Nice to meet you."

... Yes, I know that he's a state alchemist, but I was never really one for respect or titles anyway.

**_Heyyy, I hope you all enjoyed the new chapter. This one is longer than the last one, I made sure of that. Thanks to everyone who has read this so far. I love you all! Please let me know what you think. How do you think Ed is going to react to the new girl? Will she end up travelling with them? Will Maya call Ed short and send him on a rampage? Why am I asking you all these questions? ... ya. Hehe, so please review, let meh know what you think, and if you have any ideas, please let me know, because I might incorporate it into the story. Thanks for reading :)_**

Baiii! (please review)


	3. Chapter 3

I smirked slightly as I saw the state alchemist dude's eye twitch at my comment. But before he could retort, or start yelling, Mustang interrupted.

"Maya, this is Edward and Alphonse Elric. Ed works for us."

I gasped dramatically. "Oh my gosh! You mean, you're that guy?! THE state alchemist?" I let my jaw drop, and suddenly Ed's anger was replaced with satisfaction and a smirk.

"Oh, so I see you've heard of me," he said, obviously quite full of himself.

I snorted. "Actually, no. I just wanted to see how you would react. And obviously, my first impression was spot on, as always."

Ed's eyes narrowed. "And what was your first impression, if I may ask?"

I put my hand to my chin and stroked an imaginary beard. "Hmm, let's see... I think you are an over-dramatic, smug, unprofessional pipsqueak." I turned to Mustang, as Ed's face turned bright red in anger. "Is that right?" I asked, making sure.

Mustang nodded, amused. I turned to Ed, and saw that he practically had steam rolling out of his ears. I grinned, before turning back around, and walking out of the office. "Well, I think I'm done here." I waved without turning around, and walked out the door.

I sighed to myself with a smile decorating my face. Well that was certainly fun. I guess I had to find something else to do now though. Hmmm... I could always go practice with my bow. I grinned, and started walking faster towards the training room. I practically ran to my locker, and threw open the door, grabbing my bow and quiver of arrows, before slamming it shut and running to the targets. Of course, having a bow and arrows in the military wasn't exactly smiled upon, but why the hell should I care?

I snorted, before pulling my quiver over my shoulder, and knocking the first arrow. I pulled the string back and aimed at the target. I took a deep breath, before releasing the string. I grinned as I heard the string go back to it's original position, and saw the arrow hit dead on in the center of the target. I repeated this action, until I reached for another arrow, but grasped only air. Sighing, I walked over and pulled all the arrows from the crowded target.

Finally realizing how tired I was when I gave a large yawn, I put away my bow and arrows, before starting towards the military dorms. I walked into my room, and collapsed on the bed, letting out a large breath. Now, I would rest. I quickly changed out of my military uniform (that Mustang made me wear) and threw on a tank top and pajama shorts. I fixed my long hair up in a bun and slipped on my favorite fuzzy socks, before running and literally jumping onto my mattress. I sighed contentedly before closing my eyes, ready to get a good nights sleep.

Not two seconds later, I hear a large metallic clang and shouting from the room next door. Groaning, I threw my pillow over my head to try and block out the noise. That didn't work. Who the hell would be making this much noise at this hour? I checked the clock, seeing it was 11 P.M. I could usually stay up really late, but I had just pulled an all-nighter while playing poker with the other guys from Mustang's team. I don't even know why they bothered to play, they all suck at the game. I had gotten at least $150 bucks from one game.

I was pulled out of my musings by another metallic clang. The horrible sound seemed to echo through my head. Finally having enough, I stood up from my bed like a zombie rising from the grave. With my jaw set and my hands clenched, I walked out to the hallway, and raised a fist. Ignoring my outfit and sleepiness, I banged on the door so hard, the sound echoed throughout the dorms. The noise inside suddenly stopped, and the door opened, revealing the short blonde guy from earlier... what was his name... Ed.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Is there a reason you're here, or are you just gonna stand there?"

That was about when I exploded. "What the hell do you think you're doing in here!? I'm in my bed RIGHT NEXT DOOR, and you're in here making noise like it's the freaking New Year! Now shut the FUCK UP, or else I'm going to come in here and attack you in your sleep. Got that? And if you doubt me, just ask James down the hall. He now locks his door every night and makes NO NOISE to make sure I won't come in after him. SO SHUT THE HELL UP!" I finished by slamming the door in his face. I walked away, pretending not to take notice of the eyes peeking out from behind their doors to see who pissed me off this time.

When I don't get my sleep, I'm a cranky-ass bitch.

So I walked back in my room and turned off the light before collapsing in my bed. I shut my eyes and soon drifted off.

I had a strange dream that night. I saw a landscape covered in blood with fires raging, burning everything in it's path. I saw women and children running through the streets, screaming. The men, all in the military, stood shooting at unknown targets. The image changed to a dude wearing a slutty outfit with spiky hair, grinning sadistically at me. Behind him was another man, this one a blonde. He seemed cool and collected, but behind that, you could see a man with no care for anything but power. The image changed again, this time to Ed and Al. They were both locked in a cage, staring at me in horror. I heard someone scream my name. The sound was so loud, and piercing, it seemed to reverberate throughout my skull. I dropped to my knees, clutching my ears, hoping to make the horrible sounds go away.

One yell cut through the rest, jolting me out of my dream, and into the real world. I bolted into a sitting position, breathing heavily and clutching my chest. My wide eyes looked up to see none other than the two boys from my dream, staring at me in concern.

"Are you okay?" Al asked, as I tried to slow my breathing. I closed my eyes and nodded slowly. "Are you sure? We could hear you screaming from in our room." My eyes shot open and I looked in confusion at the two boys. I had had waaaaaay worse nightmares than this one, and haven't made a sound. But this time I was... screaming? That didn't quite make sense to me.

I nodded at the two again, this time a little more hesitant. I swung my feet out from under the covers and placed them on the cold floor of my room. I stood up, and the two moved over and got out of my way. As if in a trance, I walked to the bathroom, and turned on the sink. I splashed my face with the cold, refreshing water, making sure I was fully awake. After wiping the water off, I walked back out to the room. Ed and Al still sat there, looking at me as I returned.

I gave a short nod, and smiled. "It's ok. I'm fine..." I trailed off, looking out the window at the bright sun, illuminating a sea of green grass.

"..Ok then, we better get going," Ed said. He and his brother walked out the door, but before they could close it, I called out to them.

"Hey!" I stood there awkwardly as I tried to think of how to say it. Dammit, I'm not good at this shit. "Umm, thanks.. Y'know, for checking to see if I was okay..." I said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

I didn't look, but I could practically hear the smirk on Ed's face. "Yeah, sure, just don't make it a common thing, k?" I grinned and nodded.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on it." I heard the door close, and I smiled to myself. "Maybe the pipsqueak isn't as bad as I thought he was."

**_Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter. It wasn't my best, but I think it was still kinda good... Setting the stage for future stuff. If anyone has any ideas of something they would like to happen, please let me know in the comments. I'm always looking for new ideas, and would highly appreciate it. Thank you for reading, and please review! :)_**

Baiiiii


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Maya, are you gonna be at the party tonight?" Bard asked me. Bard was one of my favorite people in the military. He had silver hair that went to his shoulders, and he was at least 22. Despite that, he only stood about 8 inches above me. He had very, _very _light blue eyes, and had a great sense of humor.

I grinned. "Wellllll, I dunno..."

Bard pouted at me. "Please Maya? The parties are a million times more fun for everyone when you're there."

I put my finger to my chin pretending to think. "Well... I'm a pretty busy person, but I could probably make time to come for a bit."

A bright grin lit up Bard's face. "Awesome! Hey, I actually gotta go right now, but I will definitely see you tonight. See ya!" He walked away waving and turned around a corner. I shook my head before walking in the opposite direction. Ya, I'd go to the party... that is if the higher ups let me go. Last time I went to one of these parties, I ended up getting drunk and running around outside yelling the lyrics to 'I Believe I Can Fly'. Then I got jumped, and I ended up beating the shit out of the guys with only a piece of rope. They were all hospitalized. and I was saved from getting arrested by Mustang.

Good times, good times.

Before I knew it, I was at the cafeteria, where the party was going to be held that night. I looked around and saw a bunch of people setting up chairs and tables with alcohol. I restrained myself from going over and grabbing a drink, and walked over to the person running everything. I believe his name was Bo.

"Hey Bo, do you have my stuff set up for tonight?" I asked, bouncing up and down slightly.

Bo gave a slight smile and looked down at his clipboard. "Ya, your stuff shoul- Oh, look, there it is now." I turned around and gave a little squeal as I saw them wheel in my equipment. In came several guys carrying different instruments. One wheeled in a keyboard, while another carried in a guitar. One brought an amp for the guitar, and another dude brought in a microphone. I smiled brightly and ran over to hug my guitar.

"Oh Tom, how I've missed you." I continued hugging the red and black guitar, ignoring the confused stares of the people in the cafeteria eating lunch. I turned to them. "What? You've never seen a girl hugging a guitar named Tom before?! Jeez, you people are in the military, I thought you would have seen weirder things than this." I shook my head in disappointment, before grabbing Tom and skipping out of the room.

I ran to my room, and sat on my bed. I held Tom up and checked to see if my fingers were on the correct strings. With my other hand, I strummed the cord. I let out a sigh of pure bliss. Oh how I missed this.

I sat in there strumming more chords and practicing for the party, when I heard a knock at the door. I sighed and got up to check the door. "Who the hell is it, and what do you want?" I yelled as I opened the door. The open door revealed a short blonde with an annoyed look on his face. I groaned and walked back to my bed, sitting down. "Whaaaattttt?" I groaned.

Ed walked in, and crossed his arms. "Ok, first you complain about us making too much noise, and now you're in here playing a... is that a guitar?"

I gave him a look. "No way, dumbass, I thought it was a potato. Of course it's a guitar!" I yelled, wacking him over the head with a pillow. He frowned and reached, grabbing the pillow from my grasp.

I rolled my eyes and absently strummed another chord.

Ed eyes the guitar. "What that for, anyways?"

"The party tonight," I answered simply.

A confused look crossed Ed's face. "Party? What party? Since when do you people have parties?"

"Since Mustang started throwing them several years back."

"What!? No, there is no way that Colonel Bastard organized a _party_."

"Well, he did. And there is one tonight. Maybe if you're not too busy being a killjoy, you can come hang out for a bit."

I walked out of the room, Tom still held under my arm. Ed followed, and I slammed the door shut, walking towards the cafeteria. I was dimly aware that Ed had gone back to his own room, but I was more focused on Tom.

I hid Tom and crawled around the vents for a while, to pass the time. After spying on several people, I got out of the vent and grabbed Tom, before running towards the cafeteria. The party must have started, for when I walked into the room, there were a lot of people in regular clothes, walking, talking, and drinking. I put Tom down by the rest of my music stuff, and went to go get a drink. I grabbed a giant container of cranberry juice, and walked away from the table, planning on drinking the whole thing. Although I did like alcohol, nothing could come between my love for ju-ju.

It was a lot like other parties; I walked around, socialized, drank, ate, tripped a drunk person or two. You know, the usual. Then finally, _finally, _it was time. I ran up onto the little makeshift stage and grabbed my guitar, before sitting down. I turned off the music that was currently playing on the radio, and everyone turned towards me, grinning. I looked around and saw Bard, holding a beer in the air as a sort of salute. I grinned and turned towards everyone else.

"Ok, I think it's my turn now. I don't like waiting, and besides, I think you're all drunk enough for a little singing, huh?" Laughter came from my last statement, and I gave a chuckle. "Ok, so I'm going to play the usual. I know for a fact that you all know this song, so you sing the chorus with me, ok?" Nods of agreement. "Good, now, i'm going to play, for those of you that don't know, Ain't No Rest For the Wicked."

Cheers came after my announcement, and I took a breathe before strumming the first chord.

-NEUTRAL POV-

Ed and Al had heard all the noise from the party all the way from their room. Usually they would be out investigating leads about the Philosophers stone, but there were no recent ones that were solid. "Brother, you've been reading that book all night, why don't we go to the party for a while?" Al asked.

Ed huffed. "Not that that doesn't sound tempting, but I would rather read."

Al sighed. "Please brother? You need a break."

At the tone in his brother's voice, Ed sighed and closed the book. "Fine, but only for a couple minutes."

3 minutes later and they were standing in a large crowd, with loud music on. "Remind me, why did we come here again?" Ed yelled, attempting to be heard over the music.

Al was about to shout a reply, when suddenly the music turned off. They both looked up to where everyone else was looking. And what they saw was very unexpected. There was Maya, sitting on a stool, a guitar in her hands with a giant grin on her face.

"Ok, I think it's my turn now. I don't like waiting, and besides, I think you're all drunk enough for a little singing, huh?" the crowd laughed and the two brothers continued to watch. "Ok, so I'm going to play the usual. I know for a fact that you all know this song, so you sing the chorus with me, ok?" Nods of agreement. "Good, now, i'm going to play, for those of you that don't know, Ain't No Rest For the Wicked." There was cheering as the Elrics looked on in confusion. What was that supposed to mean?

As the cheering died down some, Maya looked at her guitar, and strummed a chord. Not a second later, she was moving her hand up and down, continually strumming the correct notes. The crowd started clapping along to the beat Maya was creating with her tapping shoe.

"_I was walking down the street when out the corner of my eye I saw a pretty little thing approaching me. She said I never seen a man who looked so all alone, could you use a little company? And if you pay the right price, your evening will be nice and you can go and send me on my way. I said you're such a sweet young thing, why'd you do this to yourself? She looked at me, and this is what she said."_

Suddenly everyone from the crowd, except for the brothers, started singing along.

"_There ain't no rest for the wicked. Money don't grow on trees. I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed, there ain't nothing in this world for free. I know I can't slow down, I can't hold back though you know I wish I could. Oh no there ain't no rest for the wicked, until we close our eyes for good._"

Cheers again rang out through the crows as she continued to play. Ed and Al stared on curiously.

"_Not even 15 minutes later I'm still walking down the street when I saw the shadow of a man creep out of sight. And then he swept up from behind, he put a gun up to my head, he made it clear he wasn't looking for a fight. He said 'give me all you got, I want your money not your life, but if you try to make a move I won't think twice.' I told him 'you can have my cash, but first you know I gotta ask, what made you want to live this, kind of life?'"_

Then everyone was singing again.

"_There ain't no rest for the wicked. Money don't grow on trees. I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed, there ain't nothing in this world for free. I know I can't slow down, I can't hold back though you know I wish I could. Oh no there ain't no rest for the wicked, until we close our eyes for good._"

Everyone cheered as Maya continued strumming chords, tapping her foot to the beat. She let out a laugh, grinning down at her small audience.

Finally she started the last verse. "_Well now a couple hours passed, and I was sitting in my house. The day was winding down and coming to an end. So I turned to the TV and flipped it over to the news, and what I saw I almost couldn't comprehend. I saw a preacher man in cuffs he'd taken money from the church, he'd stuffed his bank account with righteous dollar bills. But even still I can't say much because I know we're all the same, oh yes we all seek out to satisfy those thrills._

"_There ain't no rest for the wicked. Money don't grow on trees. We got bills to pay, we got mouths to feed, there ain't nothing in this world for free. We know we can't slow down, we can't hold back though you know we wish we could. Oh no there ain't no rest for the wicked, until we close our eyes for good._"

At the end of the song, everyone was very happy, very cheerful, and in fact, very drunk. Maya smirked at the group through her bangs and stood up as people started applauding. Maya hesitated for a second, before giving a ridiculous bow. She put down her guitar and walked off the stage, being greeted by people clapping her on the back and giving her compliments. Her face was as red as a tomato, but no one could tell how much the praise effected her.

~ **Two hours later **~

"Honestly Al, what are we still doing here?" Ed asked, bored. He was never one for large crowds of people. However, somehow Alphonse had convinced his brother to stay for a while. Ed stood up from his chair and stretched, before starting towards the door. "Eh, why don't we just go. Not like anyone's gonna miss us."

But before the two could make it to the door, a tall guy with silver hair stepped in front of them. He eyed them warily before giving a bright smile. "Hey, you're the Elric brothers, right? The two weird dudes Maya was telling me about?" That caught their attention.

"Oh really?" Ed drawled. "And what exactly has she been saying?"

The guy shrugged. "Nothing really important. But I have a favor to ask of you two."

Ed raised an eyebrow while Al answered. "Sure, what is it?"

He turned around and pointed behind him. "Could you take Maya back to her dorm? She's pretty drunk and it is NOT a good idea to let her go back on her own. Last time, it... didn't end well." He shuddered before leading the two brothers over to the drunken girl. She was sitting at a table attempting to play chess with another guy who was way past drunk. Suddenly out of nowhere, the dude playing took Maya's castle. She stared at the table trying to comprehend what just happened.

Then her glare turned towards the guy. Her eyes were unfocused and seemingly covered in a hazy veil. "You... you _shit!"_ she slurred, pointing an accusing finger at her giggling opponent. "You... you took Joel. How on Earth, could you be so _cruel!_ HE WAS SO YOUNG!" she exclaimed, making the other guy giggle harder and fall out of his chair.

Ed and Al sweat dropped as she continued to yell at him. Bard walked up to Maya and lightly poked her arm. "Hey Maya? I think you're a bit drunk. Why don't you let Ed and Al take you back to your dorm?"

But Maya just pulled away and turned towards the table. "Nooooo, I gotta fix this... I gotta... gotta get Joel back."

Bard smiled, before leaning down and picking her up. She yawned and weakly pounded a fist on his chest. "No- nooooooo, Joelllllllll. I'll come back for youuu!"

Bard put Maya down on her feet next to the brothers, who were both unsure how to respond to this. He gestured for each of the brothers to grab onto one of her arms. "You might want to hold her, there's no way that she'll walk all the way back."

The two nodded and Bard grinned. "Thanks for taking her back. I'd do it myself, but I got a shitload of stuff to do." He walked off towards his own dorm, and waved at Maya who didn't quite register what was happening. And so the slow process of half helping and half dragging Maya to her room began.

Ed grunted as he shifted Maya's weight. "Damn it, can't you just walk, like a normal person?"

He looked down at Maya who was occasionally taking a step or two forwards, but was otherwise being dragged across the floor. "Nooooo, i'm to tireddddd."

Silence took over after that. It was horribly awkward, but Maya seemed only dimly aware of it. "Soo, Maya, what made you join the military?"Al asked, attempting to make conversation.

Maya's head kind of tilted to the side and she closed her eyes. "My mom... made Mustang promise... to... um... oh ya.. promise to give me a... job in the military... Kind of an old favor that he never returned." Maya yawned and stopped walking altogether, just letting herself be dragged across the floor.

"Well.. where's your mom now? I haven't seen her around here." Al stated.

"... Hm? Oh... my mom... Not quite sure really... left a few years ago... haven't really seen her since."

Both brother's froze, and exchanged a glance. "Well... what about your dad?"

"Dad? The dude who was always... gardening, right? Eh, I'm pretty sure... that he died several years back... Mom... got mad... Then shit happened..."

The two still stood there, looking down at the drunken girl who was, unknowingly, telling them both about a past she wanted no one to know about.

Maya's eyes squinted slightly. "Hmm... they always did like... them better... July 18... Baaadddddd day. Bad day. Fucking... assholes... nooo, the vase isn't expensive enough... 'give us something more valuable' they said...every... fucking... time..."

She trailed off from speaking her gibberish, and her head drooped. Ed thought that maybe she was reliving a horrible memory or something, when suddenly a loud snore was heard. She was asleep.

Shaking his head, Ed motioned for Al to hand over Maya's other arm. Once he had a firm grip, he lifted her sleeping form up, and carried her bridal-style to her dorm. In her sleep, the girl unconsciously snuggled closer to the nearest heat source, which in this case, happened to be Ed. He blushed, and shot Al a scathing glare, swiftly stopping the younger brother from making a remark. Finally reaching the room, they opened the door and deposited her on her bed, making sure she wouldn't fall off.

Maya snuggled closer to her blanket and promptly started snoring again. Ed rolled his eyes, before he and Al left the room, turning off the light and closing the door. Once they were both in their own room, they sat in silence, both pondering the words that Maya let slip, and wondering what her gibberish could possibly mean.

Though they didn't know now, they would be sure to ask Maya what she meant, and find out more about her past.

**_Hey guys. Another chapter up. Yay! I just keep getting new ideas for this story. By the way, I don't own that song. That is Ain't No Rest for the Wicked, by Cage the Elephant. Well, thank you all for reading, and please review to let me know what I could do to improve the story. Thanks for sticking around! Peace out._**


	5. Chapter 5: The Horrible Hangover

Maya POV

I groaned and flipped onto my side, holding my head with my hands. It hurt like hell... And that damn sunlight was NOT helping. I stumbled out of my bed and closed the thick curtains, effectively blocking out the sun. I sighed and very slowly got ready for the day. As much as I would _love _to stay in bed and sleep all day, I still had paperwork and shit to do.

I finally finished getting ready, and walked towards the door. I leaned against it for a second, before opening it, and immediately face-planting on the hallway floor. Groaning, I stood up and saw none other than the Elric brothers. I rubbed my head. "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what do you guys wanntttttttttttt?" I whined.

"Um, we were actually just coming to check on you." Al said.

"Yeah, you seemed to be in pretty bad shape last night..." Ed remarked, giving me a look. "And it seems as though you are not fully recovered."

"Hey... I'm just... just fine." I yawned.

"Why are you up anyways? Shouldn't you be getting some sleep?"

"Are you kidding me? If I was able to sleep the day away, don't you think I would?" I snapped.

I started walking down the hallway, stumbling slightly every couple of steps. "I gotta go and fill out my paperwork for Mustang, and then I gotta help clean up the stuff from the party."

"I'm sure they won't let you work in this condition?" Al said.

I scoffed. "Are you kidding me? I was in the hospital once, and Mustang still made me fill out my paperwork."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "You were in the hospital? What happened?"

I stopped and gave a sly grin. "Hehe, lets just say it involves the last party."

The brother's glanced at each other. "What _did _happen that was so bad?" Al asked, as I started walking again.

"I turned to them and gave a bright smile, despite my headache. "You really wanna know?"

They both slowly nodded, wondering what was so bad.

"Well, I got drunk at the party, and went to walk to my dorm by myself. I kinda... got lost, and ended up... hehe... running around outside singing at the top of my lungs. Some idiotic gang thought since I was so drunk, they'd be able to get the upper hand on me. The bastards jumped me, and get this, they tried to beat me up!" At this point, I was laughing like crazy. It was always so fun to recall this memory... even though it was pretty hazy.

Both the brothers stared, wondering if I had gone insane. "They... tried to beat you up? How is that funny?"

Finally, I stopped laughing enough to continue the story. "Ok, ok, so the only thing I had near me was a rope. So I grabbed it, and started beating the shit out of em all. You should have seen their faces! Those assholes didn't expect me to put up a fight, let alone beat the shit out of them. In the end, Bard found me standing over all of them with a weird smile on my face and the rope in my hand. They were all hospitalized, then arrested for 'harassing a minor'." I finished the story, and nearly fell over laughing.

Ed looked at me, before giving a chuckle. "Just a rope?"

I looked up at him, grinning. "Yup. It wasn't even good rope either, it kept breaking. Unfortunately, Bard made me stay in the hospital for a day to get checked out and make sure I was ok."

Al stood their silently, probably trying to process exactly _why _I thought that was so funny.

I turned back around and wiped an imaginary tear from my eye. "Ah, good times, good times..."

Suddenly, we heard a thump and someone curse. Ed and Al both got in defensive positions, and I rolled my eyes. "Bard, I know you're there. You are absolutely horrible at sneaking."

Silence. Then a low muttering of "fuck you, Maya." I laughed.

"Love you too, Bard," I called back teasingly.

A slightly disgruntled Bard emerged from his hiding spot, playfully glaring at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Is there a reason you are eavesdropping Bard?"

Bard straightened up slightly, before giving a large grin. "Ya, actually. Mustang wanted to see you and the Elrics."

I blinked and groaned. Suddenly I could feel the full force of my headache coming back. I grabbed my head. "Shit." I muttered.

Bard frowned. "Something wrong?"

I shook my head. "No, no.. Just got a huge hangover.."

"Well that's kind of what you get for drinking so much... Does the name 'Joel' mean anything to you...?"

I blinked. "Who the hell is Joel?"

Bard grinned. "Yup, memory loss. It'll come back, don't worry. And in the meantime, TO MUSTANG'S OFFICE WE GO!"

He skipped ahead of us, his silver hair bouncing around his head. I gave a pained smile, before starting off in the same direction. I could faintly hear Ed and Al following, but at the moment, I was focused on keeping my skull from splitting in two.

Before I knew it, we were at Mustang's office. Bard opened the door. "I retrieved Maya and the Elric brothers sir." He said, slipping into his professional facade.

"Good. You are dismissed." Bard nodded and saluted before walking away. He gave me one last grin and a thumbs up before disappearing down the hall.

The three of us walked through the door into the office, where Mustang was waiting. I pushed down the ever-looming pain in my head, and faced my boss. "Hi Mustang," I said, before plopping down on one of his comfy chairs. The older man sighed and looked at me.

"You know, you really should show some respect for your superiors."

I shrugged, and Mustang shook his head.

"So, as you all probably guessed, I called you in here for a reason. Maya. You've been cramped up in here for far too long. I order you to go and travel with the Elrics to go get some real life experience."

My head shot up, and I gasped. Ed looked just as shocked as I did. "WHAT!?" we both exclaimed.

I grinned, my heart speeding up in excitement. I would get to leave? I would get to go see the world?

But it seems Ed didn't quite agree. "Are you kidding me Mustang?! She's a _girl!" _

And with that one sentence, the grin was wiped off my face. I turned to Ed, anger radiating off me in waves. "And what the hell is _that _supposed to mean?!" I shouted.

"It means, that I'm not going to baby you the whole way! I will not hang around all the time to protect you, and stop you from getting into trouble! So, you're not coming!"

"Are you freaking kidding me?!" I growled. "I can beat up most of the assholes in this entire building! I know martial arts, and I can take care of myself!"

"Well you don't even know what we go up against, why we go travelling! And I'm sure as hell not going to tell you! You are irresponsible, and I _refuse _to let you come along. I forbid it!"

With every word he said, I could see the doorway to freedom growing smaller and smaller. I started to grow desperate. I sure as hell was _not _going to stay here, and let this chance fly by.

"You don't understand, I _have _to go!"

"And why exactly is that?!"

"BECAUSE I'M SICK AND TIRED OF BEING STUCK HERE, LIKE A FUCKING CAGED ANIMAL!" I shouted, making everyone shut up and stare at me. I started breathing heavily. "All my life, I have been treated like dirt. I _refuse_ to let some blonde haired ass ruin my _one chance_ at freedom that I've had in _five years._ My father: dead. My siblings: dead. My mother: gone. Walked out on me, cause she blamed me for everything. Then I end up being trapped here, behind these walls, as if i'm some sort of prisoner. I will NOT stay here. I am coming with you, and that's FINAL!" I shouted, before storming out of the room, leaving the shocked people behind me.

I went back to my dorm and slammed the door. I leaned against it, taking shuddering breaths. _I will not cry. Not again. _I finally calmed down enough to stand up straight. I grabbed a small bag and packed the few possessions that I owned. When I finished, I walked into the bathroom, washing my face with ice cold water. I dried it with a towel, and gripped the edge of the sink. Reluctantly, I looked at my reflection. I saw my horribly tangled mess of hair, my red face and my wide eyes. That was the only thing I ever saw. My faults, standing out like a candle in the darkness.

I was tired of being treated like shit. Sure, I always acted all happy and sarcastic and confident, but no one here knew anything about what had happened in my past. No one was _supposed _to know. I let more slip than I should have. From now on, my lips were sealed, and so were my memories.

I heard a knock at the door and stood up straight. I fixed my hair up in a ponytail, and walked towards the door. Opening it, I found that it was Ed. "... You ready to go?" he asked, his voice barely audible.

I stared at him shocked, before grinning, my mood changing instantly. I leapt forward and hugged him. "THANK YOU!" I shouted. I got off before running back into the room, missing the shocked look on Ed's face, and the bright red blush. I grabbed my bag and ran out past him. He closed the door, and fell in pace with me.

"So, where are we going?" I asked, excited.

"Well, first we're going to stop in Resembool. I gotta get my arm looked at before we go anywhere else."

"Woo!" I yelled, startling Ed. "TO RESEMBOOL WE GO!"

**Hello! Another chapter down! WOO! Yes, I made Maya insecure about herself. It's a result of things that happened in her past. Anyways, thank you for reading, and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's 1:30 AM here, and I'm totally pumped. I don't even know why... Maybe it's the Godiva chocolate I ate earlier.. hehe.  
Anyways, please review and tell me what you think. What do YOU********think happened in Maya's past that was so bad? Hmmm... Well, thanks for reading, and i'll see you all in the next chapter. **

**~ Peace**


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